Process of treating ores.



PATBNTED APR. 26, 1904.

W. P. HANNES. PROCESS OF TREATING ORES.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 27, 1901.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' no MODEL.

WITNESSES: 7 7 I 7" in No. 758,532. PATENTED APR. 26, 1904. W. F. HANNES. PROCESS OF TREATING ORES.

APPLICATION FILED mm. 21, 1001.

:0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IINiTED STATES Patented April 26, 190- 1.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F- HANNES, DEMING, TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO, AS-

SIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WALTER J. BROWNING, OF DEMING,

TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO.

PROCESS OF TREATING oREs.

/ SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 58,532, dated April 26, 1904.

Application filed December 2'7, 190]:. Serial No. 87,479. (Np specimens.)

citizen of the United States, residing at Deming, in the county of Luna and Territory of New Mexico, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Treating Ores; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in processes of smelting, and especially to the smelting of mineral-bearing ores in that type of furnaces generally known as vertical or upright furnaces.

In the present practice of smelting ores now generally followed the metalliferous ores to be-smelted are subjected to preliminary roasting and then fed into the furnace with the fuel in alternate layers, or they are mixed together in certain calculated and predetermined proportions and fed into the furnace together. Air carrying the oxygen to support the combustion within the furnace is'supplied in any suitable manner near the bottom and united with the carbon of the fuel, forming carbon dioxid, which, passing upward through the fuel above it and being in a highly-heated state, oxidizes a portion of the carbon of this fuel to form carbon monoxid, all according to well known principles. The gases thus formed are usually drawn off and, with the addition of air, burned in various types of engines,

stoves, &c., to recover some of the heat en ergy, or they may be utilized in any other suitable manner.

The objects of my invention are, first, to obtain a more perfect combustion than has been possible by the methods heretofore employed; second, to produce both a reducing and an oxidizing action in the furnace upon the material under treatment regulable at the will of the operator; third, to supply sufficient fuel in the zone of combustion within the furnace to fuse or smelt any of the material supplied therein without previous calculation of the amount of fuel necessary; fourth, to supply oxygen to the ore, out of contact with the fuel, in suflicient quantity to oxidize any sulfur or other impurities therein preparatory to the reduction of the ore.

WVith these objects in view my invention is carried out, preferably, by providing a furnace with one or more fuel-compartments extending downward from the upper part thereof, said compartment or compartments being in communication at the lower end with the body portion of the furnace. Further, my invention consists in the subjection of the materials under treatment to the action of successive blasts as and when the same have reached a predetermined condition or stage in the process, so as to. secure in the same furnace both an oxidizing and a reducing action, thus obviating anypreliminary roasting or other preparation of the ore before its admission to the smelting-furnace, as more particularly hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout, for purposes of elucidation I have illustrated one form of apparatus adapted to the carrying out of my process, it being understood that many other and different departing from my process, and therefore I do not desire that I be limited to a process carried out in anyparticular form of apparatus.

Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sectional views of a furnace so constructed as to carry out my invention. Fig. 3 is a plan sectional view taken on the line X X of Fig. 1, and Fig. f is a similar view taken on the line Y Y of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a partition-Wall ext-ending downward from the upper part of the furnace and dividing the same into a fuel-compartment B, separated from the main portion O of the furnace. This wall does not extend entirely to the bottom of the furnace, but is supported upon the arch H, leaving the lower end of the fuel-compartment B open to discharge the fuel into the portion of the furnace above the hearth, where forms of furnaces may be employed without 7 the combustion takes place. The upper end of the compartment B is provided with means 7) for supplying fuel thereto, these being preferabl y of the bell-and-funnel type, as shown in the drawings.

\Vhile I have shown but one fuel-compartment B in the drawings, it is to be understood that there may be several of these arranged along one side of the furnace or surrounding the body portion or in any other suitable manner, and in many instances some such arrangement will be desirable.

In order to supply air for supporting the combustion of the fuel, I provide twyers 0, arranged below the fuel-compartment B and communicating with the air-supply pipe E, extending partly around the exterior of the furnace. The supply of air to this latter pipe is controlled by a valve D, of any suitable type, arranged to check or cut off the flow of air from the pipe E, leading from the source of the air-supply. The twyers a, being arranged below the compartment B, as above stated, are adapted to admit the air, preferablyunder pressure, directly to the fuel either before or just after the time it comes in contact with the ore under treatment in the body portion of the furnace. Beyond the vertical line of fuel-supply from the compartment B and below the arch H are arranged an additional set of twyers g, communicating with a supply-pipe G, arranged upon the exterior of the furnace in a similar manner to the pipe E, the supply of air to this pipe being also controlled by a suitable valve. These two supply-pipes E and G are independent of each other, and hence air supplied to the twyers and 7 is independently regulable. The twyers g are arranged so as to supply air to the ore under treatment at about the place where it contacts with the fuel-supply from the compartment B and also to the ore not in such contact. By this arrangement the combustion of the inflammable gases, such as carbon monoxid, issuing from the burning fuel may be regulated at will, so as to produce both a reducing and an oxidizing action within the furnace regulable at the will of the operator. The blast from these twyers may also be made to oxidize any carbon, sulfur, sulfurous vapors, or any other constituent material in the ore within the furnace. Below the twyers is arranged the hearth J of the furnace, constructed in any well-known or preferred manner, and surrounding the bosh the usual waterjacket K and communicating water-pipes L.

As ordinarily constructed it is impossible to burn or oxidize any sulfur in copper, iron, or lead ores in blast-furnaces because the sulfur unites with the metals and forms mattcs, and therefore it has to be roasted before smelting, whereas with my construction the entire treatment of the ore is carried on simultaneously in one operation in the same furnace.

In operation the oxygen admitted through twyers 0 supports 'the combustion of the fuel and produces carbon dioxid, which passing through the adjacent incandescent carbon is reduced thereby to carbon monoxid. Ordinarily this carbon monoxid passes off and is afterward sometimes collected and utilized for heating purposes, whereas by my invention for a given quantity of air or oxygen introduced through twyers an equal quantity is admitted through twyers g, which coming into contact with the carbon monoxid leaving the fuel area serves to burn it within the furnace. If sulfur be present in the charge, an excess amount of oxygen or air is admitted through twyers g proportionate to the amount of sulfur, and there being no fuel beyond the vertical line of the partition the sulfur will be thereby oxidized or burned in the furnace. By manipulating the valve F, admitting air to the twyers 9, an oxidizing action is produced in any degree desired. If this valve be closed and air admitted only through twyers e, the carbon mon oxid would reduce any oxids, and the furnace-gases would not differ essentially from those of any other furnace.

Although I have described a specific form of furnace adapted to carry out my invention. it is to be understood that the details of construction may be varied, added to, and certain of them omitted without materially departing from the spirit of my invention, which is to the process broadly.

Having thus fully described my invention, what 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The method of treating metalliferous ores which consists in supplying solid fuel and ore ma furnace in separate, vertical strata, supplying oxygen to the fuel and ore mixture, leading the resultant gases through the ore separated from the fuel and there supplying to the ore additional oxygen in excess of that required to oxidize the ore, and then bringing the ore thus treated into contact with the incandescent fuel, substantially as described.

2. The method of treating metalliferous ores which consists in supplying solid fuel and ore to a furnace in separate, vertical strata, thereafter intermixing the ore with the fuel, supplying oxygen to the fuel intermixed with the material under treatment and leading the resultant gases through the ore and there supplying additional oxygen in regulated quantities to oxidize the ore, varied to suit the ore treated, and then bringing the ore thus treated into contact with the incandescent fuel, substantially as described.

3. The method of treating metalliferous ores,which consists in supplying solid fuel and ore to a furnace in separate strata, supplying oxygen to the fuel, leading the resultant gases into contact with the ore and there supplying additional oxygen in excess of that required to oxidize the ore, and then bringing the ore thus treated into the area of fuel combustion, substantially as described.

4E. The method of treating metalliferous ores,which consists in supplying solid fuel and ore to a furnace in such manner that they shall not be admixed, supplying oxygen to the fuel for purposes of combustion, leading the resultant gases into the ore area and there supplying oxygen in amount sufficient to burn such gases and oxidize any sulfur and other impurities in the ore, and then feeding the ore, thus prepared, into the zone of fuel combustion for subjection to the reducing action thereof, substantiallyas described.

5. The method of treating metalliferous ores, which consists in'supplying solid fuel and ore to a furnace through separate compartments merging together in the body portion of the furnace, supplying oxygen to the fuel 20 beneath the fuel-compartment, and leading the resultant gases into the ore area in the body portion, supplying to such gases in confact with the ore an additional supply of oxygen suflicient to burn the same, and an excess of oxygen sufiicient to oxidize any sulfur, or other impurities in the ore, then feeding the ore, thus roasted, into the zone of fuel combustion, and subjecting the same to the reducing action thereof, and Withdrawing the fused metal from the furnace, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of tWo subscribingwitnesses. WILLIAM F. HANNES. Witnessesz' C. B. BOSWORTH, G. W. LEFFLER. 

